


A Certain Kind of Hat

by littlesolo



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29991273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesolo/pseuds/littlesolo
Summary: Everything about Dani and Jamie's travels after leaving Bly is memorable.  Every place they visit they make sure to have some way to remember.  All except for that one stop in Lyon where Jamie had an encounter with a strange woman.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	A Certain Kind of Hat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewildtype](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewildtype/gifts).



> This one is sort of my fault based on an old post I made on tumblr, but @thewildtype had me thinking about a possible encounter and this happened.
> 
> Here's the post
> 
> https://littlesolo.tumblr.com/post/645420314686259201/a-certain-kind-of-hat

So, when she and Dani set out to travel, they started in Europe. It’s a first real holiday for either them, but not exactly. They didn’t avoid famous sites, but they also didn’t want to limit themselves to just what everyone else thought was amazing. For them, a small town with brilliant flowers or a hole in the wall place to eat, was just as amazing, even if it wasn’t a landmark or found in a tourist guide. While they were in Portugal, it had been a family that they’d stopped to talk to. There was a beautiful purple flower that Jamie had wanted to know about in this family's garden. The farmer explained everything he could about the levadas madeira, his wife filling in some of the gaps, and then they invited Dani and Jamie to dinner. These were special things. Things that would be overlooked, missed entirely, or taken for granted. Much like they both felt the other had been. 

They don’t have a set schedule or even a plan. Henry had given them generous severance checks, but they’re doing their best to make them last. They’d started in Portugal, gone through Spain, and were now in Lyon France. They’d stopped in Castile-Leon while they were in Spain, and for a week, they worked nights at a small bar that also had a room above it where they could stay. They’d sleep until lunch and then spend time exploring until their shifts started. 

The pink bushes and vines of bougainvillea were remarkable and Jamie loved spending time looking into them and other various plants. When they had questions, people were happy to help. When it came to flowers, Dani wasn’t all that surprised that the language barrier didn’t matter. 

They’d bought disposable cameras and a sketchbook for Jamie when they started out and were getting a lot of use out of them. It was all relaxing and easy. Jamie had asked about flowers to her heart's content, taking photos and sketching them all out. Dani kept finding out new things about the brunette. Jamie shrugged it off as nothing special, but her drawings were so detailed and captured the life of blossoms. 

By the time they left the town behind by train, Jamie had learned what she could about Spanish bluebells, Lily of the Incas, and a few others. When they’d started off, Jamie would apologize, begging for just five more minutes or a couple more questions, but Dani got her to understand that while she may not have the passion for plants that she does, she still finds them lovely and doesn’t mind spending time with them. She was happy as long as they were together. 

When they reached Lyon, France, they decided to do it again. In an open market of sorts, Jamie got to chatting with a local vendor and that led to an older woman named Bertha Kruger hiring her for the week to tend to the garden at her home. That stay had been different and would become a sort of uncomfortable memory. One they remembered vividly, but weren’t sure they wanted to. 

When Jamie went around to the old woman’s house to see what she’d be working on, she took Dani along with her. Dani was the better people person out of the two of them. Everyone loved Dani and Jamie completely understood why, she is amazing. While she walked the grounds, Dani had tea inside. The garden was pretty typical with multicolored roses and various other plants, but Jamie found comfort in having her hands in the dirt again. Whenever she goes to work, Dani stays behind and either catches up on sleep or goes out to do a little exploring on her own. It wasn’t until the end of the week that things got weird. 

It was late afternoon on her last day and Jamie was going around the back to clean up. That’s when she notices a blonde woman stowing a cellphone in her large jacket pocket. Spotting her, the blonde tilts her head slightly and takes her in. 

“Nice hat” says the blonde as she taps the side of her own. Jamie blinks. Their hats are similar, in fact, so are their jackets for that matter. Jamie gives the woman a nod and then moves to store her tools in the greenhouse. She figured the woman was just part of staff, maybe the gardener who was going to take over tomorrow and was just there to gauge what had to be done. At least that’s what she’d thought until she saw the body inside the greenhouse. There, sprawled in the dirt with a hose close by was Bertha Kruger, with her eyes open and not breathing. She’d been strangled. Jamie grips the trowel in her hand tighter and spins to see the blonde woman still standing there casually. She doesn’t seem like she’s going to attack, but what did she know. Would the killer really linger around and let herself be seen? In any case, a trowel made a really poor weapon. 

“You can dig a hole, right?” Jamie blinks at her again before nodding. Given how strange this whole thing is, it takes her a minute to put the pieces together. 

“I am _not_ going to dig a hole to help you to bury the woman you just murdered!” Fortunately, Jamie says this in more of a hiss, so it isn't heard by anyone but the two of them. The blonde shrugs. 

“Pretend you’re going to plant daffodils.” 

“No! You just— You can’t-- _No!_ ” 

“Vegetables then? Potatoes? She’ll be good for the soil anyway. Help things grow.” Jamie doesn’t want to admit it, she wants to argue, but the woman is right. If buried deep in the soil, the body would decay and work as great plant fertilizer. At least that was the case with animals. Something told her this wasn’t the first time the woman in front of her had killed, so she’d know. Thankfully, her common sense kicks in right about then. 

“There are a few Spirea bushes that need to be replanted.” With a nod, the blonde grabs a shovel and Jamie does the same. Together the two of them walk out to where the bushes are waiting. Of things she’d expected to find herself doing, digging a hole with an assassin was not one of them. 

Jamie takes pride in her work. Even if the garden isn’t hers, she puts all her effort into it. When they’re going to get the wheelbarrow to transport the body, she spots the garden shears on the ground and what’s next to them. 

“Did you cut the blooms off the roses?” She asks her question through gritted teeth. She hadn’t done anything other than trim a few during her time here, but they’d been fine and had no reason to be cut. The blonde raises her eyebrows in surprise at the anger in Jamie's voice. 

“I just had to look like a gardener, not be one” replies the blonde with a shrug. Seeing as how that didn’t help calm Jamie down, she holds her hands up and says sorry. She doesn’t mean it at all, it had been sarcastic, but Jamie will take it. Doesn’t mean she won’t grumble for a while though. 

The entire time they’ve been working in the dirt, Jamie’s been wondering if this woman is going to kill her. The hole will have already been dug so there’s really nothing stopping her. They both have shovels, but the woman had killed with a garden hose, so it was safe to assume that she was skilled. She keeps thinking of Dani, who is back at the hostel and what they’d last done together. They’d shared breakfast and wandered through a few shops together before Jamie had to take off for her last day of work. Dani would know that she wouldn’t take off without her, she’d also know where she’d been working, but have no idea what happened to her. Jamie didn’t want to leave Dani, if she had to be honest, she saw herself staying with the former au pair for a long while yet. She didn’t want to be another source of pain for the Dani though, and if she didn’t come back, she knew Dani would figure out something had happened and blame herself. That was the last thing she wanted and was her main concern, but she wasn’t all that fond of dying either. She must have been thinking too loudly because the woman next to her tosses her shovel aside with a heavy sigh. 

“I’m not going to kill you. We will just throw the plants in and then leave. Never see each other again, okay?” The woman could be lying, but Jamie agrees with a nod. 

This is possibly the worst time, but if Jamie’s seeing to the planting of something, she’s going to do it right. Somethings she’s willing to let slide, but the planting of the Spirea bushes isn’t one of them. That’s what has her arguing with the blonde over an open hole with a dead body in it. 

“What does it matter?” 

“Because for the bushes to thrive, they need to be placed at a specific height! Plants all have certain things they need to grow. Enough sunlight, water, space, temperature--” The blonde raises an eyebrow at her and it has her stopping. 

“You do know that the bushes are just a cover, right? The body is what we need to hide long enough to get away from here.” Jamie takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. 

“We’ll be safer if it’s properly done. No one but a gardener would go through this much trouble, so no one will suspect that there's a body under there. It will also actually give the plants a chance.” It comes out just short of an actual growl. The blonde woman gives her an incredulous look before relaxing with a shrug. 

“Who knew you’d be so uptight about plants?” 

“Well, I happen to actually be a gardener. Plants are sort of my thing.” The two of them carefully leave only after watering the bushes and then surrounding them with mulch. There had been more than a few glares thrown back and forth, but it was done. If it weren’t for the body underneath them, it would be a top quality job. Jamie also makes a point of scowling at the woman after cleaning up and fixing the beheaded roses. Then they’re done. Jamie shifts on her feet nervously. She wants to believe what the woman said earlier, but it seems to too easy. With one hand on the gate latch, the woman gives her a sideways look. 

“What?”

“Well… now what?” 

“Now we go and never each other again or come back here.” With that the other woman leaves. Jamie stands there for a minute or two out of shock before she leaves in the opposite direction. 

Everything that happened doesn’t really sink in until much later, after she’s had a shower and she and Dani have had dinner. Dani had known something was wrong from the moment she got back, but had agreed to let the explanation wait until later when they were alone and have turned in for the night. Which leads to now, where Dani is staring and gaping at her. After saying it all out loud, Jamie’s suddenly aware of how surreal it all sounds. 

“You argued with someone who had just committed murder? Over how to plant bushes? Jamie, how are you still alive?” Three things occur to Jamie in that moment. She’s so happy she’d been paid up front, she’d nearly picked a fight with a killer over decapitated roses, her own fastidiousness when it came to plants could have gotten her killed. Even knowing all that, she knows she wouldn’t have backed down on anything. Judging by the look on Dani’s face, she knows it too. With a sigh, Dani settles down on her shoulder. Dani never questions any of it, even though it all sounds so hard to believe. But it’s over and done with, and they can move on. 

Moving on proves to be harder than Jamie had thought. The next morning, they’ve left the hostel and are having breakfast at a café when it happens. They have a train at noon taking them to Paris and want to have some energy to do some looking around before that, so they have a good breakfast. While Jamie has survived for years by starting the day with simple tea and toast, Dani always arranges to have the best breakfast they can. Yes, energy is important, but they’re not in any rush, in fact, they’re going at a leisurely pace on purpose. It’s the first time either of them has been comfortable out on their own, not having to wait for their past to creep up on them or for things to start going downhill. Despite everything that happened back in Bly, they’re adjusting to it, and are still at ease with each other. 

Jamie’s just finishing her tea and Dani’s helping herself to the last bit of croissant on her plate when there’s a voice. 

“No hat today?” 

Jamie nearly chokes on her tea. Aside from her coughing, her whole body tenses up. It takes Dani a minute, but her eyes widen when she puts it together. Once she can breathe again, Jamie turns in her seat to look at the other woman who has taken a seat at a nearby table. This time the woman is dressed in a white blouse with black spots and yellow pants. 

They wait until after the other woman is served and they’re alone before talking. 

“What are you doing here?” The woman gestures towards herself and then around them. 

“I am being a tourist. With great fashion sense. Obviously.” Jamie rolls her eyes. Sighing, she lets her head drop into her hands. Jamie is trying to think about how they got here. To get to the hostel from the Kruger’s house was a twenty minute bus ride, but the other woman had left before her… Maybe she’d waited around and watched? But they’d left the hostel early… Had she been waiting for her? For them? 

“What happened to never seeing each other again? Wasn’t that the deal?” The woman shrugs. 

“I’m going where mood takes me. Paris is nice…” The waiter then returns with their bill, one that Jamie is all too eager to pay since they really need to get moving now. She feels that’s the safest thing to do. As they pick up their stuff to go, the mysterious assassin digs into her omelet. Knowing how Dani is, it really shouldn’t shock her that the former au pair says goodbye to the other woman, but it does. Dani’s kind to everyone, but this is too much, and the incredulous look she gives her says as much. Dani at least has the decency to look slightly ashamed. 

“Have a nice trip!” calls the woman as they leave, this time using a British accent. Up until now, she’d been sounding Eastern European, and the sudden change is both startling as well as frightening. 

“So…” starts Dani, but Jamie cuts her off. The woman just wishing them well was still in earshot, but she didn’t plan on saying anything until they were a block away just to be safe. She squeezes Dani’s hand when she feels they’re in the clear. 

“So, I’m thinking we should head to Marseille instead. The botanical garden there is supposed to be amazing.” Jamie could tease her about how she’s keeping her voice down, but she plans on doing the same. 

“That’s another bonus then.” Quickly making their way to the train station, they buy tickets to Marseille that leave two hours earlier than the train to Paris. Before, they board though, Jamie sets her things down and digs through them. Dani watches, curious as to what could be so important that Jamie’s practically unpacking in the middle of the station. Seeing Jamie pull out her floppy hat and toss it into the trash can next to her has Dani biting her lip. 

“Not a word, Poppins. I’ll probably buy another one at some point, but this one was complimented by an assassin. She had one on like it that day too.” Dani swallows her laughter and takes Jamie’s hand as they go board their train. 

Later, settled in their seats, Dani leaning her head on Jamie’s shoulder, something occurs to her. 

“Jamie, was your focus really on the cut roses and not the shears that you could have used to keep her back long enough to get out of there?” 

“Poppins, she had just taken care of a woman with a garden hose, I don’t think I would have stood a chance even with a chainsaw.” 

Thankfully, the rest of their trip is more than enough to push that one odd encounter out of their minds. 


End file.
